New Hope, New Change

Clearly the McCain/Palin ticket is asserting itself in a way that Obama never saw coming.

Sarah Palin was a wildcard, and we are tremendously lucky to see her on the political forefront of 2008. The short list was comprised of names like Pawlenty, Romney, Ridge. I first heard terrific feedback about a "rising star" named Sarah Palin in the GOP back in the Spring of 2008. A good friend and a republican strategist in the party said to keep an eye on her. That she was a formidable challenger should she choose to start her ascension on the GOP ladder.

During the spring, I was busy along with many of my Massachusetts GOP colleagues launching Mitt Romney's Presidential bid. We held our weekly conference calls, did our grassroots work, did our phone banking, and when Mitt suspended his bid we were greatly disappointed.

Friday August 29, 2008 came as a powerful moment in our history. When a strong female republican leader had a place on a ticket.

Palin’s nomination reinforces an important point. There are many terrific GOP women out there, thousands of them, who have been around a long time. Why are they unnoticed? Perhaps the liberal media/bias is not interested in picking up stories about conservative women who are activists, leaders, and legislators in the country. As a Republican woman in Massachusetts, Governor Jane Swift can speak first hand to the miserable experience of having to tolerate the vicious attacks on her leadership, life choices, and family. In defense of this, could someone please tell me where all the "sisters" have gone? Where are my sisters? Where are all the feminist liberal women run organizations that should be crying “FOUL” and defending Palin. Are they that upset that they will not come out of hiding and support another sister because she is a Republican? Un-enrolled women between the ages of 30-50 should be outraged at the way Palin is being treated. She has been attacked, discriminated against, and scrutinized for her career choice, and the liberal media has fueled it. As far as I can see, whether you are a stay at home mom or a commute away from the office mom, we all work! No matter how you slice and dice it, it is work raising a family. It is also a personal choice as to how a mother chooses to engage in her work, and raise a family. What works in my home for my husband and I may not work for my neighbor. And the criticism women have endured for taking their personal choices is unfair, as Palin is proving. Power to Palin for changing diapers while she's on a conference call. She's what I like to refer to as a female warrior: a strong woman that can do anything! Show us a task, and we'll get it done. I am surrounded by women like that and impressed by their stamina, focus, and determination. Not to mention their intelligence and grace.

Palin possesses a wealth of leadership experience as a Governor, a mayor, a mom and PTO activist. As Governor she lowered taxes, consistently put money back into the wallets of her constituents, where it belongs, and said “NO” to the corporations and pork barrel spending. And with an approval rating of 85% in her own state who’s to say she doesn’t lead well? By the way, you can fit 5 Delawares inside Alaska! Further, Palin holds the key to drilling for oil. She understands and supports alternative energy sources, and she realizes that is a long term goal, which we need to methodically phase into our nation’s energy plan. And so in the interim, we need to increase domestic production and decrease our dependency on foreign sources.

Sarah is just like you and I.

And maybe that is was has energized the base and lit a fire in the bellies of us soccer moms.

She believes that the people’s will should be done. And we need to maintain our strength economically and defend our foreign interests. She understands the need to keep our nation safe from the terrorist attacks and warfare that some would wage on our soil. And that at the end of the day, we as parents have the right to choose the basic principals and values that are important to teach our children, that we are not leaving that to the public school system, and that sex education has no place in the K-4 curriculum.

Now that the economy and the wallstreet bailout has taken center stage, focus seems to have shifted temporarily away from the Palin phenomenon. The Wall Street and banking woes are concerning. It is particularly amusing (or not, pending on viewpoint) to see Congressional Rep. Barney Frank (MA) bad mouthing those involved in the foreclosure/mortgage crisis when he is the same fist banging Rep that spearheaded legislation to force lending and mortgages to individuals that should have been termed unqualified. Shame on him.

Make no mistake about it, though. The styrafoam columns are indeed back in the Hollywood studio and there are no props left for Obama to use. Camera is on him and there’s a heightened awareness of his liberal agenda and solutions to remedy our country’s greatest challenges.

Let me be clear: this is not a race about race. This is a race about taking our country in the right direction, successfully navigating the future of our economy, military, education and spending. Protecting the freedoms of our people and upholding the constitution in a constructionist methodology, not legislating from the bench.

This is about my children, your children, the elderly, the poor and middle class America. This is about people who have basic needs that are not being met.

The majority of soccer moms that I see on a weekly basis are excited about Palin and they want the McCain/Palin ticket to win.

It’s a ticket they can believe in.

It is change they can believe in.

Palin and McCain are that change, and we believe in them.

I am looking forward to January 21, 2009 when I can watch the inauguration with my daughter.

-Angela F. F. Davis,
Foxborough Republican Town Committee Chair
Barrows Campaign Advisor